Chapter 498
“You can’t keep a secret forever. The truth always comes out in the end p>
As soon as she spoke, Caitlin waved ahead and called out, “Aunt Hyacinth p>
Hyacinth strolled over with a bright, doting smile, taking Caitlin’s hand in hers. “Freya, you must have been waiting a while p>
Hyacinth absolutely loved spending time with Caitlin. Even more, she relished every opportunity to brag about her niece to anyone who’d listen.
“Not at all, I’ve just been on my phone,” Caitlin replied, grinning. “Aunt Hyacinth, Aunt Stephanie and the others are already here. Shall we go p>
Tonight, Caitlin was out with all eight of her aunts for dinner and karaoke-a ladies-only gathering, no men allowed.
Originally, Hannah was supposed to come too, but something came up at the last minute and she couldn’t make it.
“Alright then.” Hyacinth nodded and fell in step beside Caitlin, never once sparing so much as a glance for Katrina.
Watching the two of them walk away, Katrina stood frozen, her expression souring.
Caitlin’s words echoed in her mind: “You can’t keep a secret forever p>
What did Caitlin mean by that?
Did she know something?
No. That couldn’t be. She was the first one who found Xavier that day.
Sure, there’d been someone else lying unconscious next to him, barely clinging to life, but Katrina was certain both of them had just washed up on the shore after the accident.
If she hadn’t rushed Xavier to the hospital right away, he would have died. She was the one who saved his life. That made her his savior.
“Katrina? Katrina, are you okay?” Jeanette gave her a little nudge.
Snapping back to reality, Katrina forced a smile and turned to Jeanette, trying to sound casual. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just think Freya’s kind of a show-off p>
Jeanette glanced in the direction Caitlin had gone, her eyes flickering with unconcealed envy. “She’s the Richards’ granddaughter, and the sole heir to the Gonzales estate. With a background like that, a little showing off is to be expected p>
Some people just got all the luck. Even if Caitlin never lifted a finger her entire life, she’d still live like royalty.
By the time the karaoke session with her aunts wrapped up and Caitlin got home,
it was already after seven.
The first thing she did was power up her laptop and log into her alternate WhatsApp account.
Ping-
She’d barely signed in when a new message popped up.
[Boss, using the time and location you provided, I found an aerial photo on a foreign server. See if this is what you’re looking for p>
[Attachment: image.jpg]
Caitlin opened the photo. It showed the endless expanse of ocean-and two people floating in the water.
She enlarged the image.
Based on Xavier’s diving photos from that day, Caitlin quickly recognized one of the figures: Xavier, unconscious and adrift.
Beside him was a young woman in a red dress.
The girl’s face was blurred, impossible to make out, yet something about her silhouette felt oddly familiar.
Beep beep beep-
Just then, Celeste’s name flashed on her screen-a video call.
Caitlin clicked to answer.
“March p>
“Catie! Tell me, does my new purse go with this outfit or not p>
That was just like
Celeste overflowing with
enthusiasm, always eager to share every new purchase or story with Caitlin the moment it happened.
“It looks great!” Caitlin beamed. “Honestly, I think it would look perfect with that
flowy white dress you wore last year p>
“Oh my god, Catie, you read my mind! I was just thinking the same thing-this purse and that dress are a match made in heaven p>
Celeste was wearing red pajamas in the video. Staring at her, Caitlin’s mind flashed back to the photo
she’djust seen Suddenly ve
eves
widened as a bold idea took shape.
“March,” she asked, voice casual, “have you ever been to the Maldives p>
“Yeah, I havel” Celeste nodded. “About a year ago, actually. But I wasn’t so lucky-my first time there, the yacht had some kind of accident and ended up falling into the sea Nearly drowned Honestly, I never want to go back p>